Arrivals
by in-silent-seas
Summary: Tag to 5.22. Slight AU. "A sigh escaped his lips, and he leaned against a tree, closing his eyes and thinking of his brother and his new family. When he opened them next, however, he did not expect to find himself standing outside of Lisa's house, leaning heavily against a streetlight."
1. Pilot (Arrivals)

**_AN: _**_My second attempt at writing a Supernatural fic. This one, however, will have multiple chapters. I've got a couple of them written, but I'm only going to post one and see how it goes. I'm not quite sure if they're in character or not, but I'm trying my best with what I've got. I say slight AU in the description because it does follow the storyline of the show, I just made a couple alterations. So yeah, enjoy. Feedback is much appreciated, good or bad!_

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Supernatural. Just borrowing the characters for a bit._

* * *

The first thing that assaulted him when he came to was sound.

Or the lack of it, actually.

Blinking his eyes open, Sam realized that he was lying in a field. He was out. He was _out. _But there was no way that was possible because Lucifer wouldn't have just let him go. He couldn't have just gotten out that easily. But there was grass under his hands, and a slight breeze blowing through his way too long hair. And there was silence.

No screams, no crackling of fire. Nothing.

It was beautiful.

The night sky above him glittered brightly with stars, and Sam knew that at that moment that he was truly out.

A single tear traveled down his cheek before he stood and began moving. He didn't know exactly where to go, but logic told him that where the trees were thinner, there would be a road. So he walked. As he stumbled his way through the woods, he began cataloging his health, wondering just how badly his body had been affected by his stay in Hell.

The clothes that he'd worn when falling into the Cage were in ruins. Rips and gigantic holes littered the cloth. He knew he'd have to find new ones somewhere, but that could be taken care of later.

As for injuries, physically his body was fine. Scarred heavily in many areas, but otherwise fine. Mentally, surprisingly enough, his mind was strong, allowing him to think logically about his situation. There was a lingering darkness in the corner of his thoughts, but he found he had enough strength to hold even that back. Opposite of that, sat a warm light that Sam was sure hadn't been there before.

However, he ignored that thought for now, instead focusing on where he was headed.

His first idea was home. Because he just wanted a warm bed and to sleep for a long time.

Home...he didn't really have one. Well, home was wherever Dean and the impala were, but if his instincts told him right, Dean was probably living a happy life with Lisa and Ben. A sigh escaped his lips, and he leaned against a tree, closing his eyes and thinking of his brother and his new family.

When he opened them next, however, he did not expect to find himself standing outside of Lisa's house, leaning heavily against a streetlight.

Blinking rapidly, Sam found himself drained of energy, and clinging to the street lamp for support.

How had he - ?

That thought had already passed though as his gaze focused on the scene that was playing out inside the house. The kitchen window curtains were pulled back, letting Sam see Dean, smiling and serving dinner to Ben and Lisa. His older brother set a big plate down in the middle of the table before sitting himself down at the head of the table.

Their eyes met.

There was suddenly a flurry of activity from inside the house as Dean dropped everything and stood, dashing out of the view of the window. Sam pushed himself away from the lamp, wishing that he hadn't been spotted. Wishing that Dean could have just continued living his apple-pie life. But then the front door flew open, and all Sam could do was smile.

"Sammy...?" Came the almost nonexistent whisper.

The only movement Sam was capable of was a slight nod of his head, before he stumbled forwards towards his brother. Strong calloused hands caught him by the upper arms, gripping him tightly and providing the support they always did. God Sam had missed this...

Knowing that he was safe, he allowed himself to slip into the recesses of sleep.

Suddenly the body in his arms went limp. Eyes widening, Dean slowly lowered his brother to the ground, calling out his name as he did. After receiving no response, the elder Winchester rested a hand by Sam's mouth, waiting to see if he felt a puff of air. The realization dawned on him that the younger was only sleeping.

"Thank God..."

"Dean, are you alright?" A voice called from back in the house.

Dean turned to face Lisa, smiling faintly, "It's Sammy...he's back."

**TBC**


	2. Departures

**_AN: _**_So here's the second chapter. I'd like to thank those who reviewed/favorited/alerted after the first chapter. It made me smile. Once again, I'm doing my best to keep them in character, but let me know if you see anything out of the ordinary. Also I believe I did the Hell math right, but if it's wrong let me know :) Please review as any feedback is appreciated!_

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Supernatural, unfortunately._

_P.S. As a side note, do you guys think it's better if I write the impala as "impala" or "Impala"? I couldn't decide which I liked better._

* * *

When Sam came to next, he found himself laying in a bare room with beige walls. Not a hospital...so still at Lisa's maybe then? Sitting up confirmed his thoughts. Smiling faintly, he got himself out of the bed just as Dean was walking in. The elder brother dashed forward, grabbing Sam by the shoulders and gently pushing him back towards the bed.

"Whoa, Sammy, take it easy. You just got outta Hell, okay? Maybe you should rest a bit."

Sam smiled, "It's Sam."

Dean grinned in response and lightly punched his brother's arm, "You wanna come downstairs and get something to eat? We were just about to eat dinner." Not waiting for a response, Dean gripped Sam's arm and lifted him from the bed before hastily dragging him down the stairs and into the dining room. The table was still set just like it had been when he'd first saw Sam.

"Actually I - " But the younger was already being sat down at the table with a plate set in front of him. He wasn't really hungry, but if it would make Dean feel better he would definitely try to eat. Especially after he'd been gone for...how long had he'd been gone for? "Hey, uh, Dean? How long was I...away?"

A silence seemed to fall over the house, Ben and Lisa staring awkwardly at Dean as the elder Winchester tried to find the words to respond.

"A year, Sam. You were gone a year."

Sam nodded slowly, trying to calculate how long that was in Hell years. Time had been weird in the Cage, though he imagined it wasn't that much different than the warped time that Dean had experienced. By that logic...he'd been in the Cage for 120 years. Something snapped in him then, and he felt his body seize up. Memories of his time spent flooded his brain, the dark corner suddenly spreading like a disease to the rest of his mind.

Dean was at his side in an instant, knowing immediately that something was wrong.

"Sammy? You okay?" After getting no response, Dean gripped his brother harder, shaking him slightly, "Sam! You hearin' me?" He knew exactly what was currently happening to Sam, and it tortured him. Eyes tearing up unwillingly, Dean stood and slowly lifting Sam as he moved, the unresponsive hunter moving with him mechanically, "Let's get you to the couch, huh?"

Without waiting for any reply, Dean gently pushed Sam towards the living room and onto one of the couches.

As soon as he sat down, Sam's eyes refocused. Dean was sure that he was seeing things, but he could have sworn that the younger's iris' flashed blue for a second. Shaking his head, he sat down next to Sam and smiled faintly.

"Welcome back, Sammy."

Sam nodded slowly, "Sorry...I guess I didn't have it controlled as well as I thought I did." He murmured, trying to ignore the fact that the warmth that had just been sitting in the corner of his mind was now at the forefront, and that he felt stronger and better than he had since being back. Since even before being back. It was even better than the demon blood, "I'm okay now...I think."

Dean nodded, before glancing towards the entry way that from the living room to the kitchen. Lisa stood there with Ben, arms crossed. She motioned towards the stairs before moving up them and leaving Dean to follow behind.

"Ben, stay here with Sam. Lisa and I are gonna go have a talk."

With that, Dean followed after the woman.

"I suppose this means you'll be leaving us now?" Before Dean could respond, Lisa smiled solemnly and continued, "I always knew this day would come. I knew this would only be a temporary thing. So, it's okay if you want to go, Dean. Because he's your brother. Just...just promise to call every now and again, okay?" There were tears in her eyes, but she had a brave face on.

A silent understanding passed between them before Dean pulled her into a hug, nodding.

"I'm sorry, Lis. It's just..."

"Don't, Dean. Don't make this any harder on me. Just...just go, okay?" Brushing tears away from her eyes, Lisa moved away from the man and headed back downstairs, probably to explain to Ben why Dean was leaving them.

Quiet, Dean moved into his room and began packing his things, trying to pretend that there weren't any tears traveling down his cheeks.

Sam leaned against the couch, a hand pressed to his forehead. Nothing was making sense, and it didn't help that his thoughts were all jumbled from the Cage. He could still hear the screaming from the victims outside the walls. Could still hear Lucifer offering to make things better. But in reality it wouldn't have been better. Sam would've become something else. A demon, even. So he'd refused. For a whole 120 years he'd refused every single offer that Lucifer had made.

And now he was out. But something was different. He couldn't quite tell what, but something had changed inside of himself. It didn't help that he'd freaking teleported earlier. Almost like...but that was impossible. He cleared his thoughts away as best he could when Dean came back into the room, carrying a duffel bag.

"Where are we going?" Sam murmured, having already understood what must've happened upstairs.

"Well, first we're gonna get you a new outfit. Cause frankly, little brother, you look like a homeless guy." Dean sent him a nervous grin before moving towards the door that led to the garage, "C'mon, I think you still have some clothes in the impala." Not bothering to explain why he still had the car, the older sibling held the door open as Sam shuffled over the threshold.

Sam watched Dean as he popped open the trunk, flinching slightly when his eyes traveled and landed on the army toy that stood forever trapped in the side of the door. Images of his fist slamming into Dean's face caused him to frown and focus his eyes back on his brother. Dully, he noted that the warm light that had sat at the front was slowly draining to the dark corners of his mind again.

"Sam?"

A voice broke him out of his musings, "Yeah?" Sam responded dumbly.

Dean held out a pile of cloth to the younger, "Your clothes?"

Nodding his head, Sam took the clothing and began taking the shreds of the shirt that he'd been wearing off. As he picked away at the shreds of the old shirt, Sam noted that his chest was heavily scarred. Two long jagged scars ran from his right shoulder down to his hip bone, and smaller, darker scars dotted the rest of his torso.

"God, Sammy..." Dean murmured, staring in horror at his brother's chest.

Sam's eyes traveled down to the scars that mottled his chest, memories of how he'd gotten them flitting through is minds eye before he foricibly dispersed them. He didn't want to zone out like he did earlier. Realizing that's just what he was doing, the taller male quickly slid the shirt on before moving to drop his pants.

"Do you wanna...uh, talk about it?" Dean questioned uncertainly, glancing away as Sam slid his pants on.

Mentally rolling his eyes, Sam responded, "Well you probably know already how it happened. Lucifer got tired of me saying no to him." With a nonchalant shrug, Sam zipped his pants up and then slid the shoes that Dean had offered to him on, "I don't know why they stayed though. Maybe that was Lucifer as well..." After tying the shoes, he stood up straight and placed a hand on his chin, "Now that I think about it, he did - "

His voice was cut off by two strong hands gripping his shoulders.

"D-Dean?" Eyes wide, Sam tilted his head, "What's up?"

Blinking back tears, Dean cursed himself for being so emotional before speaking, "Sammy...this...just stop, okay?" Hazel eyes hastily took in his brothers appearance, as if realizing for the first time that this was real, and that Sam had really gone through Hell, "How can you be so calm about this?"

Sam took in his brother's appearance, noticing how much this was affecting him. And how much it wasn't affecting himself. It was odd, because the logical part of him knew that he should be a wreck right now. 120 years in Hell? That's no walk in the park. But...that light that sat just at the edge of his consciousness seemed to dim everything else. He still knew what had happened, but it was like he was numb towards it.

Except for those few moments where it overcomes him, of course.

"I don't know, Dean..it's like I'm numb to it, or something. Sorry." Sam apologized, knowing that he'd made Dean worry.

"God, Sammy, you're such a girl sometimes." There was no force behind Dean's words though, only large amounts of worry and relief.

There was a moment of silence as Sam adjusted to wearing the new outfit, and then Dean spoke again.

"I'm really sorry to ask this so soon, Sam, but how did you manage to get out? Cas said that he couldn't grab you without releasing Lucifer, and that everyone else was too scared to try. I'm not saying that I'm not glad your back, but..." Dean's eyes traveled nervously over Sam's tired form, knowing that even just standing there and talking was taxing on him.

Sam shrugged, moving to open the passenger side door to the car and sit down because he was so exhausted, and he could barely stand, "All I remember is that Lucifer was leaning over me, and then there was this really warm light. Next thing I knew I was lying in a field in the middle of no where."

Dean was silent as he moved to the other side of the garage and pressed the button that opened the door. When that was done, he got into the impala, having loaded their bags into the car during their conversation. Turning the car on, he sat for a moment before opening his mouth to reply, "Well...not like it matters now. You're out and that's all that I care about."

As they pulled out of the garage and into the street, Sam leaned his head against the window, blinking tiredly.

"Where are we going now?"

"To Bobby's," Dean replied, eyes on the road, "I think we oughta give him the good news."

Nodding tiredly, Sam murmured, "I'm jus' gonna get some sleep..." Before closing his eyes and yawning.

Dean reached over and pressed a button on the stereo, and AC/DC softly played through the speakers.

Smiling, Sam finally allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

He was home, and for the moment, that's all that mattered.

**TBC**


	3. This Is How

**_AN: _**_Here's the third chapter. I don't think there will be many more after this. Maybe two or three, depending. However I'm quite enjoying writing this one now. I hope you guys like it as much as I do. Please review! Any and all feedback is much appreciated! _

_**Disclaimer:** Once again, I don't own Supernatural._

* * *

When they arrived at Bobby's, Sam felt as though a weight had settled in his chest. He felt bad because the last thing he remembered of Bobby was that he'd exploded. And Sam had sort of gone to check on Dean first. Of course, Dean had told him to shut up because he'd been in _Hell _and so he got one freebie.

However, it still didn't take away the stab of guilt he felt when the older man opened the door.

It also didn't help that he got a face full of holy water not but two seconds after.

"What the hell, Bobby? I told you I already tested him." Dean questioned, not angry, but not quite happy either.

"I just had to be sure, boys. No offense, Sam."

Sam just nodded in reply, using the sleeve of his jacket to wipe the lukewarm liquid from his face. He could understand why Bobby was so cautious, after all he'd just spent the last year in Hell and was suddenly back with no explanation as to why. Other than some freaky light (not that Bobby knew about that).

"Why don't you two come inside? I just fixed supper."

And so they went, following Bobby inside the house and laying their bags down by the door. They moved to the table, Dean sitting at one end, Bobby on the other, and Sam awkwardly squished in the middle. Neither of the older men would stop staring at him, and it was kind of uncomfortable, and it kind of made him want to go somewhere else. But even then he could understand why. He'd been unable to stop watching Dean when he'd first returned from Hell.

"How long you been back, Sam?" Bobby questioned as they got settled.

Sam shrugged, "Um...a few days, maybe? Not long."

"Wait, so how long were you back when I first saw you outside?" Dean's eyes narrowed in confusion briefly as he spoke.

Another beat of silence as Sam tried to figure out the best way to tell his brother that he hadn't even been back a day, and that he'd _teleported _to him. Brow creasing, the youngest Winchester leaned back in his chair before he replied, "Well...it's kind of hard to explain. See, I woke up in that field, and was on my way out of it when suddenly I just...wasn't there anymore. I was outside, by the street light, watching you set the table."

Dean and Bobby's eyes both went wide, and Sam had to hold back a chuckle at their matching expressions.

"Wait so you're telling me that you just, appeared outside the house?"

Feeling evermore uncomfortable, Sam nodded in response to Bobby before speaking again. He chose his words very carefully, "I mean...it's almost like I was teleported there. One minute I was thinking about Dean and then...well, you know. Bam." Shifting in his seat, Sam couldn't quell the feeling of uneasiness that swam in his gut. He really, _really _wanted to leave the room right then.

And just like that, Sam was gone.

"What the hell?!" Dean's voice rose an octave as he got up and dashed to the chair that Sam had previously been sitting in, "Tell me you saw that happen, Bobby, that I wasn't just hallucinating." Because he couldn't have hallucinated Sam coming back. Lisa had seen him, so had Ben, and so had Bobby. Hell, the fucking attendant at the gas station they'd stopped at on the way here had a full on conversation with Sam. So it couldn't have been a trick. Couldn't have.

"Don't worry, boy, you're not crazy yet." Bobby nodded, getting up as well, "Looks like Sam's made another disappearing act."

Thinking only of one person who could track down his brother, Dean ran outside and stood by the impala.

"Cas! Get your ass down here!"

A flutter of wings, and the angel stood in front of Dean, frowning.

"You gotta help me. Sam's - " Dean was cut off as Castiel began speaking.

"Missing. I know. I should be able to find him and bring him back, if you want."

Perplexed, Dean narrowed his eyes, "I thought you couldn't see us anymore 'cause of the Enochian shit you carved into our ribs."

Cas nodded, still frowning, "That is true. However...there is something different about your brother. If he were here, I could tell you what, but for now I can only tell you that his being is not the same as it was before." Pausing, the angel placed his hands in his pockets, "Now, would you like me to go retrieve Sam?"

"Yeah, that'd be great, Cas." Dean replied sharply, annoyed at how vague the angel was being. As usual.

Nodding, the entity disappeared in a flutter of wings and a small gust of wind.

SPNSPNSPNSPN

Sam awoke to the sound of a ringtone. Grumbling at Dean to shut it off, he shifted and tried to bury himself deeper into his bedding. Except...his eyes snapped open and he sat up with a shout. This wasn't his bed. This was a field, in the middle of no where. Had he even gone back to Dean in the first place?

Had it been all a dream?

Groaning as a headache pierced through his skull, he pulled his phone from his pants pocket, having realized that the ringing was coming from him.

By the time he'd gotten to it, the call had already gone through to voicemail. Still, it didn't quell the feeling of relief that went through him as he saw the small white text printed across the middle of the screen.

_'32 missed calls from Dean.'_

A small smile lit his face before he swiped the screen, calling his brother back.

"Sam? Where the hell are you?!"

Blinking as Dean's voice pounded against his ears, making his headache worse, he replied, "'m not quite sure...everythin's a lil fuzzy."

It took him a moment to realize that his voice was slurring.

"Are you drunk?" Dean questioned, not sounding angry, but instead extremely worried.

Sam shook his head, but then after noting that Dean couldn't see him now, and see his silent response, he spoke, "Uh..not that I'm aware of. Head hurts though." He mumbled, making a strong attempt to sound a bit more coherent. The pain in his head was beginning to subside slightly, though blood still slowly dripped from his nose.

Wiping at it, he couldn't stop his eyes from widening at what Dean said next.

"Cas left three days ago to come get you. He came back yesterday morning and said that you didn't want to be found. Wouldn't explain what the hell that meant. I've been calling you ever since. Goddamn, Sammy...are you hurt?" The worry was stronger in Dean's voice now.

Wait, three days? He'd been out for three days?

Just where the hell was he? How had he gotten here? Blinking rapidly, he tried to breathe, but found panic flowing through him. The warm light that had been comforting him the entire time was fading slightly, as if it were getting weaker. Growling, he mentally pulled at it, not wanting the buffer to leave.

"Sammy? You okay?"

Realizing that he was still on the phone, Sam responded, "Y-yeah. Just, uh...have Cas come get me now, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. He's on his way now. Be careful, Sam." And then Dean hung up.

The light finally gaining its original strength, Sam could finally feel himself relaxing. The headache receding quite a bit. He didn't know why it (the weird light) had suddenly started going away, or why the fact that some freaking light in his brain was making him freak out so bad. It worried him to have such a foreign thing in his mind, but he couldn't help but feel like it'd been this whole time. Ever since he'd gotten out of the Cage.

A fluttering noise caught his attention.

"Sam. Good to see you alive." The familiar voice of Castiel spoke.

Smiling faintly, Sam nodded in agreement, "Good to be out."

"Let's get back to Dean, and then I can find out what's wrong with you."

With that, the angel gripped Sam's arm and then suddenly they were in Bobby's living room.

Warm arms wrapped around him, and Sam couldn't believe what he was seeing. Dean. Dean was giving him a hug. Much like when they'd first been reunited. Not that he minded, because he felt pretty weak and out of it right now so the support was appreciated. He was just a bit weirded out.

Then again, Dean had probably thought Sam died again, knowing him.

"Dean, there's something you should know." Castiel spoke, thoroughly ruining the moment.

The elder brother looked up, narrowing his eyes at the angel, "What's that?"

"Sam has Grace."

Sam chose that moment to promptly pass out in his brother's arms.

**TBC**


	4. The Wind Shifts

**_AN: _**_So here's the fourth chapter. This one explains what's going on with our little Sammy. I think there's only one more after this, and it's technically an epilogue, so...but yeah. Thanks to all those who read and stuff. :) I appreciate all of you~!  
_

_**Disclaimer:** It might be obvious by now, but I don't own Supernatural._

* * *

"E-excuse me?" Dean responded, before feeling Sam go limp in his grasp, "Sammy?!"

"Don't worry, he's just resting. Using that much grace is taxing at first. Especially when a human is given it." Castiel explained nonchalantly, as if he were discussing the weather, "Sam was all the way in northern Canada. I'm surprised he managed to get that far, considering."

"Wait, you mind explaining what in God's name is goin' on here?" Bobby spoke up.

Dean only just realized that the man had entered the room.

Cas nodded, speaking once again, "Of course. I'm not sure, but I believe my father pulled Samuel out of the Cage. In doing so, I believe some grace was given to him. I won't know how much exactly until I look into his soul, but it's definitely there. I think that's why I can sense his presence now."

"So Sam is an angel now?" Dean murmured, eyes wide.

"Not necessarily. I believe he's more closer to that of a nephilim, as he still remains in human form." Seeing the confused look on both of the hunter's faces, Castiel decided to elaborate, "A nephilim is the offspring of a human and an angel. Obviously, Sam was born of two humans. However, because he was given grace, it's quite possible that his state of being has been transformed."

"Is he still Sam?" Bobby asked, gripping his hat in one hand. The other was clenched into a fist.

"Yes. He should still be the same. Although he may have to learn how to control when he wants to teleport. Now, if you would like, I can see how much grace Sam has, and I can impart onto him the information on how to control his new powers." The angel held out two fingers, ready to press them into Sam's forehead as soon as he got the okay.

"Wait, wait, wait. How come if you can sense him, you couldn't find him before?" Dean ground out, clutching Sam in his arms and not caring that his entire body was kind of falling asleep.

"Like I said before, Sam didn't want to be found. Whether or not he consciously knew it, he was hiding himself from me. I'm not quite sure how though. Perhaps he kept moving away every time I would get near. I don't know." With that, Castiel reached forward and pressed his fingers to Sam's skull.

Immediately he knew that there were two forces battling in the boy's head.

One was the grace, fighting desperately to keep the mind sane.

The other was a strange darkness. Either the demon blood that still raged in Sam's veins, or the memories from the Cage, Castiel wasn't sure. It could've even been both. It didn't matter though, because the grace was winning the fight, successfully deflecting all the darkness that threatened to overtake the brain.

This was definitely his father's work. A blessing, perhaps, for saving the world.

With a thought, he left Sam everything he would need to know in order to control his new found grace. That done, he pulled out of the mind and pulled his fingers away, blinking in the light of the room. How long had he'd been inside? His internal clock told him about an hour and a half.

"How is he?" Dean immediately asked.

Castiel noted that he'd moved his brother to the couch before speaking again, "The grace is keeping him sane. And it is my father's work. That's all that I've learned. However, if he uses his powers too much, the grace may drain away and leave his mind defenseless. Make sure he knows of this."

And with that, the angel was gone.

Sam blinked awake blearily, his headache completely gone.

However there was a pain in his back, like he'd been lying on the floor for too long.

A glance around told him that he was lying on the couch in Bobby's living room. The last thing he'd remembered was being warped back to the house, and then Cas had said something. Something...he couldn't remember what. But then his brain politely filled him.

Words and thoughts filled his mind, information filling every crevice.

There was a moment where he lost himself in it, feeling his body flop back against the couch, and then, as abruptly as they'd arrived, the words were gone. It left him feeling vaguely empty, but suddenly he knew how to control all the things that'd been happening to him. He could feel the power in his veins, and actually know that he had full control over it.

Oh yeah this was better than the demon blood.

He shook that thought away immediately.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." Dean walked into the room. Despite his tone, Sam could tell that he'd been worried, "For a minute there I thought I was gonna have to get Bobby to kiss your sorry ass just to wake you up." As he spoke, Dean lowered himself by Sam and pressed a hand to his head, checking for fever.

"I'm fine, you jerk." Sam pulled away, a smile on his face.

"Bitch." Dean automatically responded.

"Glad to see you too are getting along nicely." Bobby said as he entered the room.

The trio sat there for a moment, basking in the presence of each other, before Sam finally spoke up.

"I'm hungry. What's a guy gotta do to get some breakfast around here?"

Chuckling, Dean stood up straight and offered a hand to his brother, "Lucky for you I learned how to cook while you were gone. I'll make us something and then we can discuss what Cas told us while you were sleeping." Leading the way to the kitchen, Dean got out the necessary ingredients to make Sam's favorite: pancakes.

Sam sat down at the table, watching as his brother moved around, and couldn't help but feel that he was right where he was supposed to be.

Grace or no grace, Sam was just glad to be back.

**END?**


	5. With Second Chances

_**AN:** This is the last chapter. It's short, but I think it kind of ties the story together. Plus it leaves it very open, so if I want to write in this 'verse, I can. And of course, if any of you would like to write in the 'verse, go right ahead! Just make sure you let 'em know I own it :D Thanks for reading, guys! It's been a wonderful ride!  
_

_**Disclaimer:** If it's not been obvious by this point, I DON'T OWN SUPERNATURAL!_

* * *

Sam stood by the door, bags in hand and a smile on his face. After spending about a month at Bobby's learning to use his new angel powers and just getting used to being _out_, he and Dean were finally getting ready to move on. It was a sad feeling, almost, because he'd gotten used to the normalcy of being at Bobby's, but the elder hunter was practically shoving them out the door by the end of the month.

So they decided to get a move on. Get back on the road.

Dean was definitely ready to hunt again. He'd spent the last couple nights cleaning all of their weapons, replacing the spoiled items (after not being used for a year, some things _did _go bad) in the trunk of the impala, and reloading all the guns. Now he stood next to the impala, hastily waving at Sam to get a move on.

Smiling wider, Sam turned back to Bobby.

"Thanks for letting us stay here so long." Sam stated, shifting the bags on his shoulder.

Bobby looked almost sad for a second before nodding and smiling back, "You know you boys are always welcome here. Just make sure you call if you get in trouble, alright? I may be older, but I can still do some things." Looking thoughtful for a moment, Bobby suddenly slapped a hand on Sam's shoulder, "Now git. Before your brother leaves you behind."

Both knew that Dean would never do that.

Still, Sam nodded, chuckled, and turned and headed towards Dean.

After loading all the bags into the backseat of the car, Sam slid into the passenger's seat and closed the door. Dean had already started the vehicle, and looked pleased as punch to be sitting behind the wheel of his baby again. Grinning wickedly, Dean shifted gears and took off, dust spitting up behind them.

"Where to now, Dean?" Sam asked, staring out the window.

"Bobby caught wind of a hunt in Illinois, so I figured we could head there first. 'sposed to be a simple salt and burn, but you know how these things go." Dean responded with a grin.

Sam nodded, placing a hand on his chin.

No, things were never that simple.

Still, it was life, and Sam was glad that he had it.

Dean spoke up again, noting Sam's brooding look, "I got some of the papers, if you wanna look at 'em while I drive. It's gonna be a long one."

Sam took the offered items from Dean, and began to read.

**FIN**


End file.
